Suspicion of plague in Russia: WHO requests data on second patient

Another employee at the Irkutsk Institute of Anti-Plague Diseases may have contracted pneumonia of unknown origin, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement. The WHO has asked Russian authorities to provide information about the case, following the death of a 28-year-old laboratory assistant at the same institute after contracting severe pneumonia.

This was announced by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

According to him, the organization is monitoring the situation in Irkutsk after the death of an employee of the anti-plague institute on October 2. Initially, the media reported that the woman may have contracted the pulmonary form of the plague while working in the laboratory.

The Russian authorities deny this. In response to a request from the WHO, they stated that no cases of plague have been recorded in the Irkutsk region recently.

Russia also claims that all people who came into contact with the deceased have been tested and placed under medical supervision. No dangerous pathogens were allegedly found in them.

Now the WHO wants to find out what exactly caused the severe pneumonia in the institute employee and which pathogen led to the introduction of anti-epidemic measures in Irkutsk. Separately, the organization is investigating reports of a second employee with pneumonia of unknown origin.

The case involves 28-year-old laboratory assistant at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, Daria Shipilova. According to one version, she may have broken a test tube with the pathogen in the laboratory on September 25. According to another, before falling ill, the woman returned from a work trip to Buryatia, where a plague outbreak was detected near the border with Mongolia.

Rospotrebnadzor said that Shipilova died of pneumonia of unknown origin related to her work. At the same time, they assure that no dangerous microorganisms were found in her body, and there were no accidents while working with pathogens at the institute.

Despite this, quarantine measures were introduced in several medical institutions in Irkutsk, including hospitals and a maternity hospital. Employees of the anti-plague institute were isolated in the institution’s building, and the head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, arrived in the city.

Recall that earlier in Russia, there were reports of a possible outbreak of plague after the death of an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute . At the same time, Rospotrebnadzor stated that the plague pathogen was not found in the deceased’s biomaterials.

In addition, the United States has already responded to reports of a possible plague in Russia . The American side stated that it was closely monitoring the situation, and the Russian authorities were called upon to provide more information.

Trump also previously stated that the United States is ready to help Russia if necessary.

Also follow “Pryamim” on Facebook , X , Telegram , and Instagram .